Welcome to the University of Texas Skywatchers Report for Monday February 21st to Sunday February 27th.
The moon is at third quarter on Wednesday the 23rd so we’ll start the week with a waning gibbous moon and finish the week with a waning crescent moon in our early morning skies.
Jupiter is now setting just 30 minutes after the sun and is lost in the Sun’s glare as it heads towards conjunction in early March.
In the morning skies, Venus is rising at 4:25 a.m. with Mars following to the lower right of Venus about 20 minutes later. Look for the thin crescent moon below Venus and Mars on Sunday morning.
Mercury is moving back towards the Sun after last week’s greatest elongation but is still rising over an hour before the sun so you can still catch it before it is soon again lost in the morning twilight.
Saturn continues to move away from the sun after conjunction and is now rising almost an hour before the Sun.
Public viewing at the 16-inch reflector on top of the Physics, Math, and Astronomy building (formerly RLM) is on Wednesday nights currently from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. PMA is located on the southeast corner of Dean Keeton and Speedway. Take the elevator to the 17th floor and follow the signs to the telescope. Masks are encouraged while visitors are in the building and in the telescope dome.
Public viewing at the 9-inch refractor at Painter Hall is on Friday and Saturday nights currently from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Painter Hall is located on 24th street about halfway between Speedway and Guadalupe and is northeast of the UT Tower. Reservations will be required on Friday nights at the Painter Hall Telescope this semester. Please see the website outreach.as.utexas.edu and click on “Public Viewing on UT Campus Telescopes” for more information. Saturday nights will be open without reservations.
Note that viewing times and availability change throughout the year so please check the schedule before planning a visit. Observing events are weather permitting. Please call 512-232-4265 for weather cancellation information, which is updated 30 to 45 minutes before the scheduled viewing start time.
Thank you for calling the University of Texas Skywatchers Report.
